No. 2-ranked Eagles offset early Cougars goal by scoring three in a row

NIWOT — It was just one of many goals comprising the to-do list of the 2014 Broomfield girls soccer team.

Yet winning the Northern League title is one of the first things on that list, and the Eagles were able to cross off that accomplishment after recording a 3-1 victory Thursday at Niwot.

In a battle of league unbeatens, Broomfield answered an early Niwot goal with three consecutive scores while gradually taking over the match. Although the Eagles, ranked second in Class 4A in the latest CHSAANow.com state poll, still have one more league game remaining against Longmont next week, even an upset by the Trojans would not offset the head-to-head tiebreaker Broomfield earned against Niwot.

It was the final Northern League game for the No. 8-ranked Cougars (11-2, 6-1), who complete the regular season next week with non-conference games against Standley Lake and Skyline.

"We just accomplished our first team goal and by doing so, hopefully because the league is competitive, we should garner a top seed," Broomfield coach Jim Davidson said. "So we're pleased about that and hopefully it gets us a couple home games in the playoffs. Obviously our major goal in this program is to go deep into the playoffs and try to get into that state final."

Unlike last year, when a fading Niwot squad suffered a late 4-0 loss against eventual 4A state runner-up Broomfield, the Cougars did not back down from the uniquely talented Eagles squad, a turn of events that pleased Niwot coach Rob Johnson.

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In fact, it was the host Cougars who tallied the game's first goal in the 16th minute. Broomfield goalie Paige Lindbloom, who made a spectacular leaping save of a shot by Niwot's Shannon Fischer in the game's opening moments, smothered a shot by Cougars senior Maria Fayeulle but was unable to secure the ball. Sophomore Charlie Miller swooped in to convert the rebound and give Niwot a 1-0 lead.

"I think this is the first time that we weren't intimidated by a Broomfield team and went right at them," Johnson said. "Broomfield was a little more composed than us at times today, and once they got that lead they locked it in."

Playing for a league title with only two officials on the field after the third referee was a no-show, Broomfield evened the match on a goal by senior Katie Forsee with 11 minutes, 36 seconds remaining in the half. The Eagles' Michaela Stark created a somewhat contested one-on-one opportunity in the waning seconds of the first half that could have given Broomfield a one-goal advantage at the break, but the sophomore was unable to launch a solid shot against Niwot goalie Izzy Aguayo.

A shot by Broomfield's Brittney Stark shot clanged off a post early in the second half, and soon the unyielding pressure applied by the Eagles attack became too much for the Niwot defense. In the 51st minute Brittney Stark drew a foul that led to a go-ahead penalty kick goal by senior Kerri Marquardt, and Eagles senior Kristin Snyder capped the scoring with a brilliant goal from a tough angle along the right wing with 15:01 remaining.

"They're definitely a good team and it was a good win for us," Forsee said. "It was good to bounce back from them scoring first. That will help us get going for the playoffs. I think it was a good team effort. He didn't let our heads get down because we knew this was a big game."

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